Traffic police resolution for 2019: Motorists won’t be stopped and fined during peak hours and private parking won’t be allowed around schools in CBD. With these measures, cops claim Bengaluru will be...

Looks like every Bengalurean’s wish for better traffic management has been heard. Expect a few changes in 2019, with the traffic police set to adopt a new strategy to curb violation of traffic rules, to begin with.

Addl. Commissioner of Police, P. Harishekaran has instructed his department to book no cases during peak hours. Too good to be true? Well, there’s a subtext to that.

Read on. The focus will be on regulation rather than enforcement, he says. Talking more about his plan to reduce traffic violations in 2019, Harishekaran, “From each traffic police station, at least 4 to 5 traffic policemen are deployed at junctions to impose fines for traffic rule violations during peak hours. But that does not solve the problem. The need of the hour is to regulate traffic and not to enforce traffic rules. This means deployment of more traffic cops during peak hours (8-11 am and 4-7 pm) to ensure that people follow rules. This will instil a sense of responsibility among commuters. We will use the enforcement strategy after peak hours. Enforcement alone will not help; it has to be combined with better regulation.”

But this does not mean that violators will be let off during peak hours. If the offence is visible and major, they will not be spared, he says. “With better regulations, offences will naturally come down. If traffic cops are busy fining offenders, violations will not be curbed.”

The traffic police department is also conducting a detailed study on all congested junctions of the city to strategize for better traffic movement.

Reduced violations this year

A total of 99,22,437 cases were booked in 2017 for traffic rule violations, whereas in 2018, the number of cases came down to 76,67,373. Of these, Chikajala had the least number of violations with only 61,794 cases and Madiwala had the most number of cases with 1,63,296 cases in 2018. The most number of cases (29,64,752 ) were booked through the Enforcement Automation Centre. Harishekaran explains, “Fewer violations this year does not necessarily mean that the traffic police did not book cases. It means there was better management of traffic at busy junctions.”

Traffic volunteers, commuters support the move

Arun Menon, a traffic volunteer, says, “The traffic police must also focus on more digitized enforcement. They can put up more digital boards that display speed limits, automated signals and issue fines digitally at all times, for instance. Violation-prone areas like Ramamurthy Nagar road intersection and Tin Factory must have more personnel. At times, when traffic jams are 1 km-long, vehicles start driving on the wrong side of the road. At such times, it becomes impossible to fine hundreds of vehicles going the wrong way.”

Heavy fines for private vehicles if found parked

The parking ban near schools will only be imposed on vehicles that belong to people who come to shop at commercial establishments or work in offices near schools. In fact, BTP has started implementing the rule near some schools on Millers Road.

Parents support the move but want alternative parking spaces

Mohit Garg, father of a nine-year-old, supports the move. He says, “I live in ITPL where the traffic density is quite high. For small children it’s frightening to come out of their schools and cross the road with so many vehicles. There should be no vehicles parked near schools that have nothing to do with the school or children.”

Rekha Shankar, whose children study in Sri Kumaran Public School, says that the move has both positive and negative aspects as the city already has parking issues. “For parents of children, it is good news when it comes to their safety. But if I think as an outsider and if I had owned a commercial establishment near a school, it would have been a problem for me because parking is anyway a huge problem in Bengaluru. Before implementing this move, BTP should ensure that they provide good parking space for commercial establishments,” she says.

No ‘private’ parking near schools in 2019

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Mornings and afternoon hours near any school are a complete mess due to the excessive number of vehicles and school buses moving in and out of schools. To solve this problem, Harishekaran has said that in 2019, only school buses, vans and vehicles of parents will be allowed to be parked outside schools. All other vehicles will be towed away and fined, if found parked near schools. Apart from clearing the traffic near schools, this move will also ensure safety of young children outside schools during peak hours.

Harishekaran says, “The roads near schools become very congested during peak hours due to excessive vehicles coming in and going out. This causes a hindrance to the movement of children and their safety is also at risk. Young children especially find it difficult to locate their buses or vans or autos at such times. This will help ensure safety of children as no private vehicles will be allowed near schools during peak hours. I have instructed all my officers to implement this strictly near all schools in 2019. No one who is not connected to the school or the students will be allowed to park here during peak hours.”

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